A problem pops up at work—what’s the first thing you do? The frenzied pace of many corporate environments means that we often jump straight to solutions. But this tendency, deeply ingrained through years of work and schooling that primarily incentivizes correct answers, overlooks a crucial step. 

Research shows that a deliberate phase of information gathering and analysis sets high-performing teams apart from their less-successful counterparts. Analytical thinking is essential for effective problem-solving, decision-making, and equitable leadership. And yet, more research reveals only 38% of employees demonstrate the necessary balance of judgment and analysis. 

The secret to thinking more analytically? Reach first for questions, not answers.

What is Analytical Thinking?

Analytical thinking is the skill of breaking things down into their components and making sense of them in order to gain clarity. It is an essential element in critical thinking and shows up in decisions as simple as choosing an outfit to those as complicated as creating a corporate budget.

Asking good questions helps us surface key components and spot relationships between them, enhancing our analytical thinking. Questions allow us to diagnose issues accurately, anticipate obstacles, and view situations more objectively, turning complicated problems into manageable ones and empowering us to challenge the status quo.

But despite its importance, few of us receive direct and explicit training in asking good questions. Here’s how to bridge this gap in our collective professional development:

Understand What Influences Analytical Thinking

Our thinking skills can be shaped positively and negatively by specific traits and factors. Being aware of, and managing these, can significantly enhance our abilities.

The Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Framework suggests that critical thinking is enhanced by eight intellectual traits: humility, courage, empathy, autonomy, integrity, perseverance, confidence in reason, and fair-mindedness. I sum these up as, being willing and brave enough to ask incisive questions and then really listen to the answers—skills requiring curiosity, self-awareness, and flexibility. 

On the flip side, things like cognitive biases, information overload, and our emotions can derail analytical thinking. For example, confirmation bias narrows our perspective, making us overlook conflicting information in favor of that which supports our own views. Excessive information and emotional reactions can hijack the brain, clouding our analytical abilities. 

Armed with this contextual understanding, we’re ready to get asking.

Use Questioning Tactics

Questions help us dissect language, uncover biases, identify key ingredients, and adopt new perspectives—all critical to analytical thinking. Load your tool kit with these questioning tactics to build the right foundation for determining effective solutions:

“What do I mean by that?”

We often use words quickly and automatically without considering their deeper meanings and hidden assumptions. Asking “What do I mean by that?” helps identify gaps in our data and unintentional interpretations. Take, for example, the problem statement, “I have too many meetings.” Look at each word. Is it really only me or do others have this problem too? What exactly does “too many” mean? Examining the language of our problems can help us glean more nuanced insights about them.

5W2H

Returning to the basics—who, what, where, when, why, how, and how much—can also help dig up important details. Asking a barrage of questions inspired by these words can help identify patterns that point to a root cause. In the case of my meeting overload, the root cause might come into focus by asking questions like: Who is at these meetings? What is the purpose of each? Or, when is my schedule most overwhelming?

Where’s the bias?

Hundreds of cognitive biases skew our thoughts in near-invisible ways. Buster Benson offers a helpful categorization of these biases on Better Humans, from which I’ve derived four questions:

• What might I be missing? To consider overlooked data or perspectives
• What might I be making up? To challenge assumptions
• What might I be jumping to conclusions about? To slow down our reasoning process
• What might I be misremembering? To question the accuracy of our memories

In the meeting example, I may be missing my manager’s perspective on my schedule or unintentionally exaggerating time spent in meetings. Shining a light on bias helps get the clarity needed to identify an effective solution.

How might others think about this?

Considering the situation from different viewpoints can help us see what might be obscured from our perspective. Gathering stakeholder input, or putting yourself in their shoes, provides a multidimensional understanding of the problem. Tools such as Edward de Bono’s “Six Thinking Hats” can also help you systematically explore different angles—including the facts involved, emotions, risks, creative possibilities, and more. 

Examining the meeting dilemma from the perspective of my direct reports, customers, or even the CEO may change how I view the problem. Allowing myself to explore my feelings with de Bono’s “Red Hat” may even help me realize that, in my case, any number of meetings would be “too many.” A great insight to have!

Embrace the Power of Questions

According to the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Future of Jobs Report, analytical thinking is the number-one skill employers are looking for—it enhances our work in myriad ways. But chances are, you’ve never taken a course on analytical thinking. You can bridge this gap by learning (and practicing) how to ask good questions.

Start with this: Which of the above tactics will I use to think more analytically about my next big problem?